The present invention relates generally to cardan joints and more specifically to an angularly flexible cardan shaft joint wherein driving torque is transmitted by means of roller bodies interposed between an inner and an outer joint member of the joint assembly. More particularly, the invention involves joints of the type where the roller bodies are equidistantly spaced circumferentially of the joint assembly with each roller body being received in recesses of the inner joint member for radially slidable engagement relative thereto and where the outer joint member is formed with grooves for guiding the roller bodies.
Conventional joints of this type, known according to, for example, German PS No. 2,225,499, German AS No. 2,355,766 and German GM No. 7,339,880, have certain disadvantages inasmuch as a special steering or directional control member is required for proper functioning of the joint. Such a steering member may be either rigidly connected with the outer joint member of the joint assembly or it may be formed as an integral part thereof. If the directional control member is a separate unit, then it must be maintained in working position by means of additional springs or similar devices. Provisions of this kind tend to be expensive and they have the effect of increasing the manufacturing costs of such devices to such an extent that the joint may become impractical from an economic viewpoint.
Under the circumstances, the present invention is aimed toward provision of a joint assembly of the type discussed which, because of its ability to dispense with the directional control member, is capable of achieving simplification and cost reduction while simultaneously providing a superior capacity for torque transmission with a comparatively smaller overall structural space requirement for the joint.